Oklahoma State Football: Cowboys need a big National Signing Day

The Oklahoma State football recruiting class for 2017 took a bad turn in the month of January, which could turn around on National Signing Day tomorrow.

It goes without saying, Oklahoma State football head coach Mike Gundy knows how to develop low-key talent. Yet, if the Cowboys want to take that next step to compete with the likes of the blue bloods in college football like it seems they are so close to competing with most seasons, they need to recruit better.

The 2017 recruiting class looked promising all the way through the 2016 regular season. However, a weak month on the recruiting trail in January resulted in a class that completely dropped out of the top 25 team recruiting rankings.

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With quarterback Mason Rudolph, wide receiver James Washington, and running back Justice Hill all returning next season, OK State should have the momentum built to have a good finish on the recruiting trail.

Tomorrow, Feb. 1 is National Signing Day, so it’s the last chance for the Pokes to add some quality pieces to the 2017 recruiting class. They currently have 22 players committed, including two four-star recruits.

The Pokes had a busy day on the recruiting trail today as they signed Rockwall linebacker Blake Barron as they second commit to the 2018 class, and they flipped two-star tight end Baron Odom from Rice. Flipping Odom was a big move that came at a great time since the Pokes lost three-star tight end Tyler Henderson to the Baylor Bears just hours earlier. Odom likely fits well with the Cowboys’ offensive scheme as a Cowboy back with Jordan Frazier transferring and Blake Jarwin entering the 2017 NFL Draft.

It does not seem like any of the current Cowboy commits are in danger of flipping before the end of the signing period tomorrow. Henderson seems like he will be the last Cowboy commit to flip, and it makes it even worse that he went to a Big 12 rival.